This book had everything I didn't know I wanted in a thriller. Romance elements? Yes. Small town atmosphere? Yes. Police protagonist who follows the rules and isn't some sort of hotshot savant? Yes. The Dark Bones is a story about Detective Rebecca North who returns to her small hometown when her father is found dead of an apparent suicide. Rebecca isn't so sure and starts her own investigation with the help of her hometown connections who, like any small town, are all interconnected - including Ash Haugen, her high school boyfriend who she left behind in the town but never in her heart. Who can she trust? What happened to her father? Is this connected to darker events of the past?
This is the second book in the Dark Lure series (which is a fact I didn't realize at the time of my reading). However, after reading the description of book 1 in the series (A Dark Lure), the books take place in the same universe and characters but not the same plot. Reading The Dark Bones did spoil the ending of A Dark Lure but I didn't feel like I was missing out on any significant details. The only part of The Dark Bones that was strange upon reflection and with the knowledge that this was a series was how nonchalantly one character's very dark past was mentioned (I don't want to spoil specifics since that character was the focus of A Dark Lure). I think reading the series in order would be good for world building, but not strictly necessary from a plot perspective.
My favorite part of this book was the underlying romance elements. It wasn't overly sappy or romanticized, it felt very realistic and the internal struggle Rebecca had with her feelings vs her job was very well done. The book is mostly from Rebecca's point of view but does flash back to 20 years prior as well as other characters in the present day. I felt getting other points of view, mostly Ash's, was integral to building this atmosphere of romantic tension as it showed us the pushing and pulling from both sides. We understood why Rebecca left all those years ago and also saw directly how Ash was impacted by her decision. A lot happens in twenty years and it was refreshing to see two adults hashing out their past and not just falling into bed together immediately like nothing happened. I thought the romance did a nice job of giving the reader a break in the tension and allowed more character development to happen. Being able to see the other people in the town as well rounded people and not just faceless mannequins for Rebecca to question was key for my immersion in this story.
Honorable mention to a favorite part goes to the small town setting. As someone who grew up in a small town and then moved to a city for college and remained, I could empathize with Rebecca's feelings of both being at home and being an outsider. A lot can change in a small town in twenty years and it can be jarring to realize somewhere that always felt the same growing up actually changes so much while you're gone. I'm not sure how this part would come across to someone who doesn't have first hand experience with small towns, but I found it very realistic and really heightened the story for me.
The part of the book I liked the least was one character - Ricky Simon. Ricky is a 13 year old kid who ends up being a key piece in Rebecca's investigation. To me, it felt like Ricky was the most amazing 13 year old to ever exist - there were many times when everything seemed to be at a standstill and then Ricky would remember something or do something that would jolt the plot forward. There's another 13 year old kid in the story who truly felt to me as being 13 so Ricky, in comparison, was even more unrealistic. It felt, at times, that White tried to make Ricky vulnerable and childish, but more times that not he was basically just a small adult who had all the answers. White did a good job integrating him into multiple character's story lines to try and make him not seem so coincidental and I really liked his relationship with Ash, in particular. However, I just felt, overall, that he ended up being the key to figuring out a lot of the big plot points in the story and I think the overall story would have been more interesting if some of those plot points were spread out a bit more to other characters.
The Dark Bones - Loreth Anne White
A great thriller with added romance and small town intrigue.
440 pages
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